New bike 29er 700 or 26?

lee170

I am looking for a new commuter bike, I have been commuting on a cannondale bad boy 26inch wheel for the last 2 years but recently involved in an accident which the bike took the brunt of it.
My dilemma is which size wheel do I go for. It will be solely used for commuting as I have a hardtail for the rough stuff on weekends.
Speed is quite important, but I don't want a racing bike as I find them
Uncomfortable.
Would a 29er be better than a 26er
What about 700??

Jimfrandisco

budget? also - what surface are you commuting on and how often?
If i was commuting on road everyday of the year i'd be looking for flat barred, 700 wheels, mudguards and alfine8 or 11 hubgear with disc brakes.
Low/no maintenance and reliable stopping power in all conditions - something that comes with mudguards will save you the effort of buying/fitting yourself...so something like this

http://chargebikes.com/products/mixer/

Barteos

A cyclocross or "relaxed" audax/touring road bike with 700x35mm ish tyres (Schwalbe Kojaks, Marathon Racer... etc) tyres should fit the bill nicely.
Road bikes/drop bars aren't less comfortable per se. It mostly depends on the SETUP. Place your drop bars at the right height and distance and they'll be better than flat bars even in urban environment.

P.S. Wheel size on it's own is irrelevant.

rolf_f

Barteos wrote:

P.S. Wheel size on it's own is irrelevant.

It's not irrelevant - otherwise there wouldn't be a choice! Try riding a folding bike with small wheels on the flat and you soon find how much harder small wheeled bikes are to keep going. You have to work much harder to keep the pace up than on a big wheeled bike. Obviously, a 26 is much nearer in size to a 700c wheel but the same rules still apply albeit to a lesser extent.

No point getting 26inch wheels on a bike that is always going to be used on the road.

supersonic

However some TT and triathlon riders use 26 inch wheels for aero reasons...

Barteos

Rolf F wrote:

Barteos wrote:

P.S. Wheel size on it's own is irrelevant.

It's not irrelevant - otherwise there wouldn't be a choice! Try riding a folding bike with small wheels on the flat and you soon find how much harder small wheeled bikes are to keep going. You have to work much harder to keep the pace up than on a big wheeled bike. Obviously, a 26 is much nearer in size to a 700c wheel but the same rules still apply albeit to a lesser extent.

No point getting 26inch wheels on a bike that is always going to be used on the road.

Perhaps I wasn't too specific.

Ignoring 20" and other small wheels (poorly dealing with rough surfaces) and focusing on 26-700C range (OP) , wheel size on its own has actually very little importance when it comes to performance on the road (Reminder: It's a commuting, not racing section) especially as the actual diameter of the wheel is determined by the tyre.
Picking the right tyres and matching their volume/pressure to the rider's weight, type of riding and road surface are much more important.

Most of 700C bikes aren't faster because of the wheel size but thanks to a wider choice of high performance tyres. Sadly there is not much to choose from outside the usual 23-28mm range, with the exception of some 700x35mm Kojaks or Marathon Racers.

There are lots of guys in randonneuring communities using fast rolling wide 650B tyres and they don't seem to be held back by not riding "proper" road bikes.
There are commuters on Super Moto 26x2.35 who will tell you that their bikes actually roll at least as fast as that of their "skinny" buddies while offering completely different level of comfort and grip.
My experience from running 2" wide Kojak slicks (tubeless) on my drop bar bike (commuting and training for over 2 years) is very similar. So is from having done a sportive on a pair of fairly worn, half bold 26x2.40 Racing Ralphs at 40PSI...

It's all about being open minded rather than fixating on meaningless numbers that the marketers put in our heads.

MichaelW

I ride 26" and 700c on the road as utility bikes.
700c with a 28/32mm tyre like Schwalbe Marathon is good for keeping up a decent cruising speed and is tough enough to cope with potholes and curb-hopping.
26" with a 1.9" Schwalbe Big Apple is very comfortable and efficient at a slightly slower speed but floats over rough cobbles faster than my 700c.
Both are quick enough for 2x6 mile commutes. For >10miles I would prefer 700c.
If you go for a 700c bike, make sure it is practical enough, with tyre clearance, eyelets and gearing suitable for your conditions.

I really like my 26" for a grab and go urban bike, complete with Alfine 8 and dyno-hub lighting.

anti_podean

Jimfrandisco wrote:

...so something like this: http://chargebikes.com/products/mixer/

Wow, that's a nice bike. Definitely going to look into that.

Big_Paul

Just my 2 cents worth...

A lot of it depends on what you ride on, how heavy you are and how far you go, my "Normal" commuter these days is my Nexus Hub geared Corratec that I'm running 700c x 42 Continental City Rides on, however it's on a relatively short commute and it is by no means fast. I have a lighter MTB that I run 26x2.0 Kojaks on, it's lighter than the Corratec but no faster, however you can basically abuse it and bounce over things that would wreck a skinny wheel.

For longer runs I have a Revolution Cross with 700x35 slicks on, it's the fastest of the lot but even with careful setting up, the cantis are crap, saying that I'm by no means a small chap.

I don't see the point in getting a 29'er unless you plan to go off road. something like that Charge would do almost everything the 29'er would.

desweller

If I were you I'd be looking at flat bar road bikes, i.e. flat bar bikes with narrow wheels. There's a greater choice of road tyres from hard-wearing budget tyres to fast high-grip in the 700c size. You also have the choice of CX tyres if you want to do a bit of bridleway riding.

NB 29" is the same wheel diameter as 700c.